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Posted by ansarmukhtar in TERRORISM IN KARACHI on August 29th, 2013
Upright Opinion
August 28, 2013
Karachi should be handed over to the Army!
By Saeed Qureshi
Pakistan is emerging as one of the most unsafe places for its citizens. Karachi, a port city and leading industrial metropolis has become the battleground for gang wars, target assassinations and extortions. The criminals and outlaws seem to be more daring and overpowering than the law and order outfits. There is a free-for-all mayhem devouring precious lives every day and every moment. It looks as if a mini civil war was underway that might erupt into a full-fledged war sooner than later.
Karachi is divided into so called “no go areas” where merciless gangs keep their sway as local lords. They fight back if another gang wants to take over their area of control. The leaders, bureaucrats, and high government functionaries are escorted and protected by an army of bodyguards and bullet and bombproof vehicles.
However, the ordinary citizens are direly exposed to the persistent lurking threat to their lives. The people are turning paranoid or senseless about the gruesome tragedies and horrifying killing sprees going on around them. People are dying every day because the killers shoot or kill them with rare abandon or without any fear of state writ.
There is an atmosphere of dread and fear that pervades every lane and street, public place and every mind. Those who eke out their living by ordinary means on road side stalls, or kiosks or the peddlers or the laborers are also targeted by the invisible assassins whose prime motive is to destabilize and destroy the normal life and scuttle the smooth commuting of the people whether by walking or in vehicles.
In the wake of escalating lawlessness and soaring gang wars for sinister motives in Karachi, the government and its law and order agencies seem to be either unmindful or crippled .The target killings before the eyes of the karachiites, Pakistan and the entire world is surging unabated.
There are rangers, and there are government moles and intelligence network, police and sometimes troops but all these have failed to contain or break the chain of killing of innocent civilians. It is evident that the successive civilian governments both federal and Sindh provincial government have failed to halt or diminish the escalating and unremitting cycle of massacre of the people by mafias, gangsters, trigger happy killers, extortionists and enemy agents.
Under these stifling conditions, there is no harm if strife-torn and terrorism infested city of Karachi is handed over to the armed forces for a specific period of time. The incumbent government elected with the popular franchise should summon army to restore order and safe environment.
If the civilian law and order agencies have thus far failed to curb the mushrooming violence then let this city be handed over to the army that has the capability and muscle to curb fast spreading violence. The political parties and civil society institutions should support the army’s deployment in Karachi for this most urgent task of restoring order and peace.
The social and business circles are crying hoarse for the deployment of army in the largest city of Pakistan to quell the sinews of a mini simmering civil war. The office bearers of the federal chamber of commerce and industry are imploring the government to come to their rescue against the extortionists. The business community is moving to other cities of Pakistan and gradually the shops, the business centers and even industries are closing down.
If army takes control of Karachi it should impose curfew from dusk to dawn and if necessary for parts at day time. Its first and the foremost task should be to de-weaponize Karachi. It should cordon off and lay siege of notorious localities one by one. The male members should be ordered to assemble during the curfew hours at a certain place and during that time their residences and hiding places should be reached.
The army is fully trained and capable of dealing with the emergencies. But just by way of advice, it should deploy contingents in markets, schools, hospitals, bus stops and similar other public places to ward off and if necessary haul the miscreants. The army should be given powers to hold summary trials, flush out the known criminals and bad characters and to sort out their activities.
The army should have powers to kill the trouble makers on the spot. With such drastic strategy that can be only executed by the army on war footing, that this mammoth menace and burgeoning curse of terrorism and crime can be definitively nailed.
It is extremely inevitable that all the foreign residents living in Karachi should be ordered to register themselves. Those who are illegal must be deported without fail and hesitation. Those with legal status should be checked and their activities and places of living minutely verified.
They should be asked to report their presence periodically at the local police stations. The police stations should be told to keep an eye on them. Those among the local population harboring the illegal aliens must be dealt with severely.
The war with an external enemy might be a remote possibility. But the country needs to move against the war within the country that is wreaking havoc with the social peace and economy; all the more the port city of Karachi that generates a big chunk of wealth for the country.
It is utterly indispensable to stop the sectarian violence that is overtaking Karachi with the passage of time. The ideological confrontations between the rival sects are taking a heavy toll of human life in Karachi. Without fear or favor the army should come down with a very hand on all religious militancy and curb it with full might and backing of the government and political forces.
Even if the “all parties’ conference” is convened, an iron clad remedy of this ostensibly intractable sore cannot be found out. Even if a consensus is brought about among the divergent political groups, still who is going to chase and engage in bloody combats with the dangerously armed and profusely organized goons.
There is no way that the parleys among the political parties can be effective is stamping out the escalating terrorism and violence. The reason for such a failure is that these political parties aid and abet the sectarian killers, the mafias, the gangs, the extortionists and all those elements destabilizing the country. The stalwarts of these social and political outfits receive a share of the looted money from the bounty killers, extortionists, kidnappers and other rogue elements.
The present government of PMLN that was ousted through a military coup or reaction should shed its psychological phobias and inhibitions and consent to army’s taking over Karachi for a limited time period. For inexplicable reasons the PPP provincial government in Sindh is also strongly opposing the military operation in Karachi.
One wonders if rangers and police have proven to be totally ineffective then why they want this mayhem to continue that is turning Karachi into a ghost city and killing its spirit of openness and liveliness.
The writer is a senior journalist, former editor of Diplomatic Times and a former diplomat
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Aamir Mughal:Chagatai Khan & Dr Shahid Qureshi
MQM-PPP-ANP Play with Fire & Jang Group (GEO TV) Adds Fuel.
Najam Sethi on MQM & Karachi – 1 (Aapas Ki Baat – 11 July 2011)
KARACHI: The Pakistan People`s Party and Muttahida Qaumi Movement continued on a collision course on Monday as graffiti demanding a Mohajir province appeared overnight in many areas of the city, mostly MQM strongholds. While the MQM has made no formal demand for a province, the graffiti-splattered walls in the city fuelled speculation that such a move was being considered by the party piqued by the government`s decision to scrap the local government system and restore the commissionerate system in Sindh. Indeed an incensed member of the MQM coordination committee had said the other night that while Urdu-speaking people wanted to be part of Sindh, they were being discriminated against. He also warned darkly that consequences of such a government policy would be serious. MQM leader Advocate Anis told a news channel from London that the PPP was not willing to accept people of urban areas as sons of the soil. As expected, the graffiti incurred the ire of the PPP as senior Sindh Minister Pir Mazhar-ul-Haq who appeared to be following in the footsteps of tough-talking Dr Zulfikar Mirza said that no-one had the courage to talk about the division of Sindh. Rejecting the MQM accusation that a plan to attack its `Nine Zero` headquarters had been finalised at a meeting between former home minister Dr Mirza and chief of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi Afaq Ahmed, he said that the MQM would no more be given concessions in the name of reconciliation. The Sindh High Court is due to hear an application of Mr Ahmed on Tuesday through which he has sought quashment of criminal cases which he said were registered at the behest of the rival Muttahida Qaumi Movement. The Sindh government, meanwhile, appointed commissioners and deputy commissioners for the newly restored divisions and districts across the province to strengthen the commissioner system. REFERENCE: Graffiti on Karachi walls incurs PPP ire By Azfar-ul-Ashfaque | From the Newspaperhttp://www.dawn.com/2011/07/12/graffiti-on-karachi-walls-incurs-ppp-ire.html
Reporters are Human Being and Often Forget:), the above report has quoted MQM leader Advocate Anis and that too from London, UK but The News International and Dawn too had carried this news sometimes back
“QUOTE”
KARACHI, Feb 13: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement expelled on Friday its senior leader Syed Saleem Shahzad from the party for his alleged ‘mysterious’ activities. The decision was taken at an emergency meeting of the party’s coordination committee. A statement issued from the MQM’s London secretariat said any party member found in contact with Mr Shahzad would lose his membership. A former MNA and London-based MQM leader, Anis Ahmed Advocate, resigned from the party and stated that in future he would have nothing to do with the views and actions of the MQM, the statement said. Meanwhile, the MQM directed its workers not to contact Mohammad Anwar, another senior London-based member of the coordination committee. Saleem Shahzad expelled from MQM By Our Staff Reporter February 14, 2009 http://archives.dawn.com/2009/02/14/nat3.htm KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has expelled Saleem Shahzad from its Rabita Committee on account of his personal and secret activities and contacts. Besides, MQM activists have been asked not to contact another Rabita Committee member, Muhammad Anwar, on any issue. According to a press release issued by the MQM on Friday, anyone found contacting Saleem Shahzad would be expelled from the party. Similarly, the MQM activists have been directed instead of contacting Muhammad Anwar they may contact the Rabita Committee in Karachi or the party’s international secretariat. The party took the decision on the basis of Anwar’s suspicious activities and his disinterest in the affairs of the party, the statement said. Meanwhile, MQM’s senior member and in-charge of its Labour Division Anees Ahmed Khan, advocate, has voluntarily resigned from the basic membership of the MQM, the statement said. Another MQM statement said on the grounds of serious violation of organisational discipline and involvement in activities outside the organisation, the Rabita Committee had suspended the following activists of the All Pakistan Muttahida Students Organisation (APMSO) for an indefinite period: Ejaz Qureshi and Mohsin Shahab (University of Karachi unit); and Mohsin Ahsanul Haq (NED unit). When contacted, MQM spokesman Faisal Sabazwari offered no comments, saying: “Whatever the MQM has to say in this regard, it has stated in the press release.” REFERENCE: Saleem Shahzad expelled from MQM Rabita Committee Saturday, February 14, 2009http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=20309&Cat=13&dt=2/13/2009 Blackwater and MQM’s Hallmarks on Karachi Fire – Bombings
“There is no difference between Tehreek Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and MQM because both are sponsored by India and USA. Sawat type operation against MQM’s ‘Clean Shaven Taliban’ who are supporting Blackwater/Xe is a must because people will support. President Zardari, the ‘Putin of Pakistan’ can he do anything of for Karachi or he has become a cuddly toy now?”The recent bombings of a religious procession in Karachi and fire bombings of small businesses miles away from the incident reportedly owned by mostly Sunni Tableghie Jamat a non violent religious group, got all the hall marks of ‘private mercenaries’ Blackwater with the support of MQM. According to reports it is physically not possible for any one attending the procession to go miles away, get special fire bombing chemicals and equipment to set fire 300 hundred shops in Bolton Market. It is only possible if one already knows the timing of the bombings and part of the plot. They targeted a Sunni areas where it is almost impossible for an angry ‘Shia protestor’ to reach from the crime scene keeping in the view the distances. So Shia procession was bombed, Sunni business were burnt down and MQM’s fire engines did not arrive. Seems perfect Blackwater Inc style operation?Blackwater, MQM’s Plus plan was meticulous and well timed. (a) Timing of the bombing few days before the end of the term of City Government Term. So City Government building burnt down with the record to cover-up corruption? (b) Selection of the venues to be fire bombed (c) Torching of Light House Market predominantly owned by the Pashtuns who did not pay extortion money to the MQM – Score settled, Job done (d) Torching of Bolton Market mostly business are owned by peaceful Sunni Muslims Memon Community. They refused to be relocated outside the city because shops worth millions. High ups of the current regime allegedly President Zardari & Co had interest in the land to develop and build flats and plazas. (Job done) (e) Why MQM leaders both reportedly Shias Haider Abbas Rizvi and Faisal Sabzwari not in the Ashura procession? (f) Why police and rangers did not stop the arsonists and terrorists? (g) Who ordered them not to act? (h) Remote control bomb was planted in an ambulance which might be carrying a head too? (i) Who is Hasham Al-Zafar (central) and what is his role in the bombing and burning of Karachi? (j) What is his relationship with Saleem Shezad alleged master mind of the operation and why he only reports to Altaf Hussain?MQM and Blackwater/Xe are US sponsored mafia style mercenary outfits due to their management structure as it is almost the same both groups’ chiefs are out of Pakistan to start with. MQM are the local collaborators of Blackwater/Xe in Pakistan?According to sources similar kinds of chemicals and fire bombing equipments have been used in Iraq and Lebanon. Pakistan’s security agencies must look into the links between MQM lead City Government and Blackwater. What kind of assistance they are providing to the mercenaries. City mayor Syed Mustafa Kamal and Governor Sind Dr Ashrat Abad Khan recently visited sensitive institutions of the USA related to protection of US national interests aboard. Why would a mayor of a third world country visit US State Department? Did he inform Pakistani’s foreign ministry? He is on the grooming list. “To his credentials it was Mustafa Kamal who opened the door for the assassins came to kill his ‘uncle’ Azeem Ahmed Tariq, leader of the MQM, as it was an inside job. It sounds like nephew shopped his ‘uncle’ according to a source.Altaf Hussain’s MQM and his mafia have caused more economic and human losses to Pakistan by strikes and terrorist activities then three wars with India. After the incident on Monday December 28, 2009, three thousand shops were burnt; one thousand were burnt after looting which caused loss of Rs. 60 billion to Pakistani economy. Armed men stopped fire engines for over three hours according to reports. Why?Elements close to MQM were also allegedly involved in the terrorism, arson, and killings after tragic death of Benazir Bhutto on 27th December 2007. Many analysts believe that it was a dry run by the foreign sponsored elements to separate Karachi from the rest of the country. There is another dimension to the burring of some markets with small business. Some people from land mafia were making hostile offers to these old pre partition businesses.There are reports that MQM has issued thousands of arms licences to its workers and sympathisers in Karachi and some of the licences might have been issued from other provinces. Disarming of the terrorist groups including MQM in Karachi is necessary to avoid future blackmails.It is also reported that armed gunmen did not allow fire engines to leave the fire stations. All the fire engines and security cameras are under the control of City Government run by MQM whose leader Altaf Hussain controls this group in a mafia style. Within minutes he blamed ‘Taliban’ for the bombings. How did he know it was Taliban and not Indian RAW or Blackwater/Xe? Altaf Hussain deliberately tried to make this a sectarian issue in his live TV broadcast on a news channel, which matches the agenda of private mercenaries and India.Asia Times Online reported few years ago during Musharraf era, sources says that, “only US diplomatic intervention stopped General Musharraf from taking strong action against the MQM after he received the report on the recent unrest in which the MQM was implicated. Washington indeed has a powerful southern ally in Pakistan’. After September 11, the United States identified even more with the MQM as it was the only party in Pakistan that widely mourned the attacks on the US, openly condemned the Taliban and al-Qaeda, and launched a powerful campaign in support of the US attack on Afghanistan”.When President Zardari speak about ‘non state & political actors’, probably he also meant Altaf Hussain too? His long distance proactive and dramatic telephonic speeches are more or less what Lord Nelson said, “If you can’t baffle them with brilliance, dazzle them with bullshit!”. He is never been to Pakistan for more then 15 years but did travel to India on his British passport. Most of the members in mafia style ‘Rabita Committee’ are wanted by Pakistani authorities for heinous crimes. He hides behind this ‘kangaroo committee’.A political analyst said, ‘to get ‘poodle status’ in US administration Altaf Hussain exaggerates things beyond imagination. For example, he claimed his supporters in Karachi increased by 10 million in just two years because he claimed to have 20 million supporters in an interview with Edgware Times in November 1998. But in 2001 MQM claimed to have 30 million supporters when MQM send a fax to Reuters on 22 September 2001. “(MQM leader) Altaf Hussain has offered the unconditional support of over 30 million MQM supporters to the U.S. president and the international community,” its London-based international secretariat said in a statement faxed to Reuters on September 22, 2001”.According to sources, ‘Altaf group is planning and preparing for armed fight with other groups in Karachi. There might be a plan to divide Karachi on ethnic zones as Rehman Malik mentioned in Dera Ismail Khan? The alleged transfer of money from Karachi to London, Germany, Dubai, South Africa, Canada, and United States is alarming. There reports of increase in the arms sale in Karachi seem serious but what are the authorities doing?So what is Altaf Hussain up to that is a crucial question to political and security leadership to think about. His alleged close links with the Indian agency and also acting like a mercenary force getting orders from foreign masters. It is time for the government of Pakistan to approach its friends and allies to have a clear cut answers about the real Agenda in Pakistan? Crimes of Altaf Hussain and his party MQM are so heinous that he wouldn’t dare step in Karachi even the whole period of Musharraf and now Zardari rule?Until November 1998 Government of Pakistan was reportedly seeking extradition of Altaf Hussain who was said to be wanted in 50 murders and 150 cases of kidnapping and arson. He said in an interview with a newspaper in 1998, “It is my wish that they take me to trial in a British court then I will tell people nationally and internationally what has been happening in Pakistan.” It was Altaf Hussain and MQM who issued a memo to his workers saying,” if there was war between India and Pakistan, MQM workers will be remain neutral”. Why?MQM’s deputy chief organiser of district Thatta and his wife were arrested by the police for trafficking 120 kilos of A class drugs according to a press report on 16th May 2004. Mohamed Ibrahim and his wife Ayesha Soho who is also member of district government were coming from Bolan area of Baluchistan on Jeep number BC 1248 when they were stopped by Dadar Police who discovered 180 kilos of HASH worth millions of from the secret compartments of the jeep. Police has registered a case number 13/2004 report against deputy chief of MQM and his wife for drug trafficking. Area in charge SHO of the area Police confirmed that suspects have confessed they have been also involved in arms trafficking from Kabul and been to Afghanistan three times. Both were sent to Sibi Jail in Baluchistan.“MQM has been funded with the drug money apart from the extortion money taken from the top businessmen in the name of support” according to a report published by The Frontier Post on December 25, 1998. The report says, “… What is more alarming is that the Narco dollars have been used for funding the (MQM), a responsible source in the provincial government said. He added that such funding was tantamount to fuelling terrorism.” Is the Narco-terror funding still on?By joining as local collaborator of Blackwater in Karachi MQM has provided the eyes and ears on the ground with smart guns. Even if US-India sponsored ‘Pakistani Taliban’ claim responsibility of Karachi Ashura bombings, the chemicals and smart guns used in burnings of the over 6000 small businesses and loss of Rs. 60 billion have all the hallmarks of Blackwater/Xe.“There is no difference between Tehreek Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and MQM because both are sponsored by India and USA. Sawat type operation against MQM’s ‘Clean Shaven Taliban’ who are supporting Blackwater/Xe is a must because people will support. President Zardari, the ‘Putin of Pakistan’ can he do anything of for Karachi or he has become a cuddly toy now?”(Dr Shahid Qureshi is award winning journalist and writer on foreign policy & security based in London)Courtesy: The London Post (http://thelondonpost.net/SQ31dec09.html)
Posted by malika in Altaf "Bhai Ka Qatil"Hussain on May 19th, 2013
Senior Sindh Vice President of the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) Zahra Shahid Hussain was killed outside her residence by two motorcyclists here in DHA in the limits of Gizri police station on Saturday.
The murder took place on the eve of re-polling in 43 polling stations in NA-250 where the atmosphere had remained tense for several days.
Police initially said it was apparently an act of ‘mugging and street crime’ as the armed persons ‘tried to snatch a purse from Zahra Shahid’, who was in her 60s, and, on resistance, fired a single shot under her chin, killing her instantly.
This killing had hallmarks of an MQM “hit” ordered by Porky Altaf Hussain from London. Porky Altaf is suffers from anger management issues.He is frightened as MQM is losing its svengali grip on Karachi. The 2013 election has shown MQM as a weak and ineffective part, made up of strong arm bhata-khoors from Lyari to teen Talwar Chowrangi.
However, the police subsequently said they were investigating the matter further in the light of statements alleging that it was a target killing.
SSP South Zone Nasir Aftab claimed that two armed men came to the residence of the PTI leader and tried to snatch her purse when she was entering her home in Defence Phase 4.
“On her resistance, one of the robbers fired a single bullet under her chin, seriously wounding her and later she died at the National Medical Centre,” he added.
Following the incident, Zahra Shahid was rushed to the National Medical Centre (NMC) near Kalapul where doctors pronounced her dead upon arrival.
SP Sarfraz Nawaz said police have collected the empty casings of bullets fired on her and sent them for forensic analysis while footage of CCTV cameras installed outside homes in the area was also being obtained to get a clue to the attackers.
The SSP also claimed that initial investigation and statements of the driver and daughter of Zahra Shahid indicated that it was an act of mugging but said police were investigating the crime from all dimensions.
Police said the driver of the deceased PTI leader and her daughter were also being consulted to identify the killers but they reported to police that the killers were wearing helmets, making it difficult for them to identify them.
The body of the deceased PTI leader was shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) from the NMC for legal formalities while no case was registered by the police till the filing of this report.
PTI leaders, including its candidate for National Assembly constituency NA-250 Dr Arif Alvi and spokesman in Karachi Jamal Siddiqui, condemned the killing of the party’s founder member Zahra Shahid Hussain and demanded of the law enforcing agencies to arrest the killers.
Dr Alvi criticised the caretaker provincial government and law enforcing agencies for their failure to protect citizens and political leaders and said the entire Clifton, Defence areas were being terrorised by armed terrorists prior to re-polling in the constituency on Sunday.
A large number of PTI workers and supporters, family friends, especially women wing leaders, converged on the residence of Zahra Shahid and condemned the killing of their leader.
Leaders of different political parties, including the PML-N’s Salim Zia, also reached the NMC and condemned the killing of the woman leader. They demanded of the police to investigate and nab the killers at the earliest.
PTI leader Firdous Shamim told reporters outside the residence of Zahra Shahid that her killing was an act of target killing as she offered her purse and mobile to the attacker but he fired two bullets under her chin, killing her instantly.
Firdous Shamim said that Zahra Shahid was a mother figure for party members, and a former teacher at the Karachi University and a popular figure among PTI workers.
Widespread condemnations poured in from people from all sections of society on the brutal murder of Zahra Shahid Hussain and they termed it as an unfortunate incident and failure of the state to protect its citizens.
Posted by kulsoom Waheed in Altaf "Bhai Ka Qatil"Hussain on May 16th, 2013
British High Commissioner to Pakistan Adam Thomson
Posted by admin in "Jihadi" Outfits of Terrorism, Asif Zardari Crook Par Excellance, BOOT THE SCOUNDRELS OR SHOWDAZ, Corruption, Hypocrites in Islam, Looters and Scam Artists, MQM Terrorism, Pakistan Fights Terrorism, Pakistan's Hall of Shame, Pakistan's Immortal Sons & Daughters: Shaheed, Pakistan's Ruling Elite Feudals Industrialists, Roshan Pakistan, SOHNI DHARTI'S BELOVEDS, WOMEN OF PAKISTAN, ZARDAR'S CORRUPTION on March 17th, 2013
Parveen Rehman, a leading social worker in Pakistan was shot dead by unidentified gunmen amid rising ethnic, sectarian and criminal violence in Karachi city. 56-year-old Parveen was killed right outside Orangi, on March 13, 2013, where she headed the Orangi Pilot Project (OPP), one of Pakistan’s most successful non-profit organisations, which helps poor communities.
Orangi is considered Asia’s largest slum and houses close to a million people in Karachi. A trained architect, Parveen also worked tirelessly to document land in the ever growing slum and in Karachi, to protect it from the city’s notorious land mafia, who she had been receiving death threats from for years.
On his blog Alexressed Diary of a concerned Pakistani, Ale Natiq writes:
Most people know her as the Director of the Orangi Pilot Project but she was more than a mere NGO Director. She and her organisation have left footprints across a wide area of Karachi and have influenced several thousand lives. It will not be unfair to say that she influenced the lives of half a million people or half the population of Orangi in one way or the other. Karachi’s slums and katchi abadis have lost a mother figure.
Among other milestones, the OPP is known for initiating one of the most successful community-driven sanitation programs in the world. Since its inception in 1980, it has helped 2 million people improve their sanitation by installing underground sewer pipes and indoor toilets across Pakistan.
Steve Inskeep, host of NPR’s Morning Edition and Author of Instant City Life and Death in Karachi, which features an interview with Parveen, remembers on Twitter:
@NPRInskeep: Outsiders would get a little tense just visiting Orangi, the vast gang-infested zone of Karachi where Rahman cheerfully worked each day.
Karachi Violence
The day Parveen was murdered, seven other people were killed in various incidents of violence in the city. There was a feeling of extreme loss and grief among Pakistan’s Twitterati. Pakistan Director at Human Rights Watch Ali Dayan Hasan tweeted on March 14, 2013:
@AliDayan (Ali Dayan Hasan): Slowly but surely, everyone and everything good in our country is being targeted and killed.#ParveenRehman #Pakistan
Others including journalists Beena Sarwar, Mohammad Hanif and columnist Cyril Almeida echoed his sentiments:
@beenasarwar (beena sarwar): #ParveenRehman RT @mohammedhanif: this is the saddest thing. And we thought we have seen too much sadness. Can’t even muster up anger
@cyalm (cyril almeida): A selfish thought tonight: am sick at the thought of the growing number of ppl in my phone book who have been cut down. Too much death.
@BhopalHouse (Faiza S Khan): I realise, I’ve known for some time, that no depths to which Pak won’t sink. Grateful that I still feel heartbroken. Soon that too will end.
@AmSayeed (Amima Sayeed): the negative propaganda against NGOs has led to this:#ParveenRehman shot dead. It is the blind hatred that doesnt see contributions!!
Parveen’s Fight against Karachi’s Land Mafia
Before joining the OPP in 1982, Parveen worked as a architect. She continued to teach at various architecture schools over the years to create socially-responsible architects in the country. Parveen, had spent years documenting land in the fringes of the ever-expanding metropolis Karachi. According to her students and colleagues she had been receiving death threats from the mafia involved in grabbing precious land in the city:
Ms Rehman was an ardent compiler of the record of precious lands, which were on the fringes of the city in shape of villages but were speedily vanishing into its vastness because of ever-increasing demand by thousands of families who were shifting to Karachi every year from across the country. She said on record that around 1,500 goths (villages) had been merged into the city since 15 years. Land-grabbers subdivided them into plots and earned billions by their sale.
Journalist Fahad Desmukh tweeted his audio interview with Parveen Rehman in which she talks about threats from the land mafia in Karachi:
@desmukh (Fahad Desmukh): Parveen Rehman: “We said all that you can do is kill us. What else can you do? We’re not afraid of you”
#LandMafia
SesapZai an artist from Pakistan writes in her blog:
It almost seems to me that people in Pakistan do not want to develop; development is a looming monster that becomes a huge threat as soon as someone tries to push it forward. And rather than supporting and encouraging such brave humanitarians — like Parveen Rehman — who’d dedicated as well as put their lives on the line, to help the poorest in the region live better lives, they are instead murdered. And with them, all hopes and dreams for a better, more economically sufficient future, wither away too.
Written by Qurratulain Zaman
Posted 16 March 2013 7:28 GMT · 
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